A Thousand Shards
by hawthorneash13
Summary: He tasted copper in the air. Blue embers drifted by his face smoldering trees busted apart and fell to the ground…fell to the ground…Fell. Rin was falling. Falling, falling, falling…into something he did not know. Streams of blood coasted through the air, cleaved by his sword as he hacked apart the person before him. 'Why' They had screamed. He didn't know why. 1-shot


**COMPLETELY REWRITTEN BECAUSE I WANTED TO.**

He tasted copper in the air.

Blue embers drifted by his face.

Smoldering trees busted apart and fell to the ground.

…_fell_ to the ground…

_Fell._

_Rin was falling. _

_Falling, falling, falling_… into something he did not know. Something he did not know was inside him.

Streams of blood coasted through the air, cleaved by his sword as he hacked apart the person before him.

Why? That's what they kept on asking, and he could still hear it even after their lips had stopped moving. He stepped away from the mangled corpse, rivulets of blood dripping off his flaming sword.

He didn't know why.

He fell and fell until he stopped falling. He hit the ground, pain ripping its way through his chest. He fingered the spot where it hurt the most, but felt no injury. Still, it felt like his body was being ripped apart. He rolled so that he could face the sky, the belly of the black tinted blue by his flames. What had he done? He didn't even know who that person was. Didn't know. He should. He should know who he killed. Turning, he gently turned their surprisingly intact face, only to stare down in shock. The once bright green eyes stared at him without any of the usual shyness or happiness. Her hair was matted with blood. Sheimi.

Rin felt his organs dissolve. His heart simply stopped and he decided against breathing. Sheimi? He had… he had _k-killed_ her? He knew he had. But the only thing was is that he didn't know why. Didn't know why this forest was burning with his flame. Bitterness coated his tongue. He started to cry, gulping in a breath. He shouldn't breathe. He wasn't worthy. Oh Sheimi… he clung to her head, sobbing into her hair. He had ended her life. He had taken something that wasn't his. Her life… she was going to be so _much_. He would never see her face again. All he would see is this image of blood and gore and her once piercing eyes. He felt his soul shatter and splinter, those thousands of shards piercing his insides. He was bleeding. His heart was pumping, his flames still danced. He thought of everything all at once, everything he had ever seen Sheimi do, had ever done to/for/with her. But he was bleeding. And he would bleed out.

Suddenly, his eyes were open.

Everything came into focus.

Illumination scrapped across his mind.

He picked up her corrupted body and gently rearranged her torn clothes. He wasn't even aware of the fact that he was still crying. He hiccupped. He would give her a proper burial. Slowly, he looked around, zeroing on a huge tree. The sky rumbled and jet of blue spread across the clouds, striking the middle of this ancient tree. A small cavity formed. He tenderly placed her slight body in it, ignoring the waves of heat that curled around him. He let out a braying sob, his body jerking so hard that he had to place his hand on the tree to regain his balance. He smoothed her hair away from her closed eyes.

"Sheimi! Rin! Guys!" he heard someone cry. A fierce roar followed. A yell filled the cackling air. Rin rubbed her ragged cheek before turning. He stumbled to where his sword had been left, picking it up clumsily. The blood had burned into a black, sticky puddle of human tar. Lifted his face, he saw a clearing where his flames hadn't touched. A huge beast stalked three people. Rin dragged the point of his sword in the dirt, walking through sheets of flames. Several bangs resounded.

_Bang, bang, bangbangbang… thunder._

Rin ambled into the clearing, his body a slumped silhouette. His breathing quickened as tears began anew. Yukio was there… his forehead was slick with blood and his right arm was hung limply. Shura was attacking the monstrosity, slashing away layers of flesh from this demon. It screamed and swatted her away. The third person was Bon, chanting quicker than he had ever in his short life. Rin was behind them. He had to help them… he had to… Sheimi would want him to…

Opened eyes… and he saw the darkness before him.

He continued his slow walk as the demon spat at Yukio, who barely missed the spray of acid. Bon was hit in the leg, his mouth opening into a yell rather than holy words. Yukio spied Rin, his face twitching with relief before he noticed the utter _deadness_ of his brother. The demon turned to Rin, screeching a challenge. When Rin lifted his sword, that's when Yukio noticed the strange coloration of it. The metal seemed darker, and that darkness was bubbling on the heated metal. Rin leisurely lifted his head to look at the huge eyes of the demon. He raised his arms.

And dropped his sword.

The demon took the opportunity.

Rin was thrown back into a tree, the fuming wood crumbling underneath him. The demon quickly slammed its bulky tail into him, launching him back into the clearing. Rin simply stood up, staring at the demon as if it didn't matter. As if he hadn't even felt the shattered bones. It shook its head and sprayed a bout of acid at the boy. Before it could reach him, Shura had dived and pushed Rin to the side. She wasn't quick enough. Her body slowly dissolved into nothingness along with her screams. Rin sat there, staring wide eyed. Someone else had died. Because of him. Yukio and Bon stared in disbelief.

"Petty human!" The demon screamed, laughing. Rin looked up at the beast yet again.

"You killed her." He whispered. Flashes of Sheimi's mortifying body, of her hacked apart organs, filed his mind, and then the image of Shura's bones and red marrow before she melted. He was there. And he didn't do anything. Rin stood again. The demon growled and chuckled at him, sneering as he swept a claw at the teen.

"Look out!" Bon cried. Rin didn't move a muscle to try to avoid the razor tipped hand. Just as he would've been sliced, Rin held up his arm, stopping the speeding attack. The flames of the forest cackled and cracked, slipping into the air in a swirling ribbon. They accelerated and slammed into Rin's body, bathing him in brilliant light. It burned the demon's hand to a smoking stump.

The tide stopped.

Images of his childhood flashed across his mind. He thought of Shiro- the back of his throat constricted at the thought, his heart swelling with sadness. Shiro… Sheimi… Shura… it seemed that he wasn't ever meant to have people to love. _No, that's not true._ He looked back at Yukio and Bon. His eyes locked with Yukio's. In those few precious moments, he told his brother of all the unspoken love in his heart. His eyes gushed with absolute affection and brotherly protection. The intense orbs swelled with tears as he turned away from the everything of his life. He faced the intimidating demon, and just when he thought he couldn't hold it anymore, wings of fire exploded out of his back.

He drew on the manic power of Satan, drew everything of the demon into himself that he could and flapped those deceitful wings. He rose into the air, sword zipping into his hand. The demon reared, trying to counter the inevitable attack. Rin spun, screaming an insane laugh as he sent waves of fire to slice away the fragile creature below. He pumped those wings and sent serpents of fire to force their way into the demon's mouth, burning it inside out. He released another delirious chuckled as the thoughts of his birth father filtered into his mind.

_Gravity is very, very strong. _

The beast exploded into a shower of guts and bone, steaming projectiles slicing through the air. Rin dived in front of his brother, expanding those four wings to form a protective barrier. Bone penetrated his back, causing clouds of blood to burst from the wound and his mouth. His head dropped as the bullets of gore stopped.

"Rin?" He heard Yukio whisper after a long silence. A dizzying smile graced his lips, his pupils wavering between stars and circles. _No… no, no, nonono! _Rin thought as Satan seized control of his body. _Yes, kiddo, yes. You wanted this, remember? _Satan chuckled sadistically. Rin's hand reached out and curled around Yukio's throat, finally revealing his face. Satan's expression was present.

"Does it look like Rin you little bastard son?" Rin- Satan chuckled. Satan lolled his head to stare at Bon. The rooster headed lad was shaking.

"S-Satan. You're Satan." He mumbled. _This is your chance. This is your chance to beat him._ A small thought whispered in the back of Bon's mind. His fear would allow no heroics.

"Mhmm. Oh, look at _this_." Satan yelled, throwing Yukio to the ground. He stood and kicked Bon in the jaw, making the teen go unconscious. Satan turned to Yukio, inspecting Rin's blood soaked fingers.

"Seems little Rin here had some fun before I got here." A twisted smirk lifted Satan's face. Yukio stared up in utter disbelief. "Oh, did you do that now?" Satan murmured, seeming to talk to himself.

"Oh, poor little boy. He killed somebody. Of course, I had _nothing_ to do with that." He snarled sarcastically. "What was her name, little cry baby bastard boy? S… Sheimi? Oh, you good boy. Hacked her to pieces, didn't you? Got some of your father in ya!" Rin- Satan hysterically laughed, bending down and picking Yukio up by the hair.

Yukio couldn't. He couldn't process what was happening. One moment, he had gotten the most heartbreaking look from his brother and now he was being dragged. Satan threw Yukio to the ground. Satan slammed a foot on Yukio's leg, snapping it in half. Yukio cried out in pain, gasping at the new stimulus. How could Rin do this? His own brother… he had shared everything with him. He had shared the body of their mother, a father who didn't care about blood, a life… this entire beautiful world was going to burn now. And yet, all he could think about what the fact that the person he had grown up with, his older brother, was not there anymore. Yukio wanted to be five again and have Rin come and comfort him. How badly he wanted Rin to hold him and tell him that'd he'd be fine and that'd he'd take care of any bullies, any threats. Tears slithered down his face, forming trails in the dirt and blood. He couldn't let this go on. He knew what he had to do, and yet, he just…

Satan's tail wrapped around Yukio's injured ankle and jerked. Yukio screamed at the unexpected pain, his broken arm adding to the intensity. He tried to keep the vomit from pouring out of his mouth.

"Pathetic." Satan spat, leaning down and ripping Yukio's glasses from his face, crushing them underfoot. His bullies used to love doing that to him; taking the only tool he had to overcome his disability and making him useless. When that happened, Rin would hold his hand and walk him home after he beat the crap out of the assailants. He wished this was another night when he could try to help Rin with his homework or eat his cooking. He wished it so much that it hurt. Satan swung Kurikara lazily, pointing it at Yukio's defiant yet terrorized eyes.

Yukio had his guns. He could shoot Satan. But Rin… Rin was in the way… no. Rin was the way. Suddenly, Satan seemed to pause, than he jerked violently. The flames sputtered.

"Rin?! Rin!" Yukio cried out desperately, trying to call his brother back to the surface. There was a moment, just one moment, when Yukio went absolutely numb. When he felt nothing, when he saw nothing, heard nothing, but his brother. The sword was sheathed. Its sheath was Rin's heart.

Rin collapsed to the ground, blue flame slowly dying off, Satan cursing and questioning how Rin could've possibly overpowered him. But Yukio wasn't listening to that. He was listening to his own silent screams, that he just saw wasn't what had just happened. It felt like his entire spine was being ripped out of body. He hauled his broken body next to Rin's, curling his busted arm to try to hold Rin's head as he attempted to put pressure on the wound. A hand stopped him.

"Rin! Rin, don't you dare. Don't you dare. You- Rin, damnit! Rin, please, don't go, don't leave me." Yukio sobbed, gasping for breath.

"I'll be fine, Yukio." Rin whispered, his voice too much like the sound of sand shifting over rugged dunes. Lone, desolate, and insignificant. His face crumpled into tears.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I- I don't know why. I don't know why I did it. I k-killed Sheimi and I don't even know why. Yukio, I ended her. I took away her life. God, why did I do it?! Why did You let me?!" He shook, bringing a hand to cover his mouth as blood and tears mingled. "I burned her. I should've left her, so that you could've buried her. But I burned her. I just couldn't stand it." He howled. He started chocking, blood bubbling on his lips. He rested his hand on Yukio's face, sniffling. A sad smirk rose on his lips, blood trickling out of the sides.

"I don't want to die." He murmured. He wanted to live. He had wanted to grow and fight demons and beat Satan and watch Yukio fall in love and watch him marry and grow up. He wanted to find a love like that. He wanted to see the sky again. He wanted to visit Europe and America and everywhere else he could go and he wanted to save people. He wanted kids and great-grandkids and nieces or nephews or both. Yukio pressed Rin's hand to his cheek, not trusting himself to speak. "But I will. I will… die… f-for you, Yukio. Ju…st plea-se, _please,_" he coughed, spitting blood out to the side of his head. "don't stop living. Not …'cause of th…is. I couldn't sav… 'em; I cou…n't save Shiro…" ragged breath, "…or Sheimi… or Shura. But you can… save ev…ev-everybody else. I love you, kid. Be be…er than what… you suffer. Maybe… I'll… see dad… if I go to... Hea-"

His hand thudded to the ground.


End file.
